Developer conversation 01
Hakeem (Game Developer)
A conversation with a game developer about the human side of making work and moving through the culture.
Watch on YouTube ↗Game developer podcast
Build the game.
Tell the story.
Jams and Joysticks is a game developer podcast for the creators, builders, and community shaping what players experience next.
More than a release
The work deserves more than a launch-day caption.
Game development asks people to hold a lot at once. There is the idea, the build, the feedback, the deadline, the team, and the question of how to keep a point of view when every choice pulls on another. The finished game may be what players see, but the work behind it is where the real stories live.
A developer can spend months solving problems that never make it into a trailer. A designer can turn a small observation into a choice that changes how a player moves through a world. A creative lead can protect the feeling of a project while helping a team make the practical calls that let it ship. Those moments are not always easy to explain, but they are the part of the work that other people can learn from.
Jams and Joysticks brings that work into the conversation. This is not a feed of hot takes or a shortcut to a career. It is a place to hear creators and builders talk through the decisions, detours, relationships, and moments that shaped how they show up in games.
Start with the builders
See every episode →These conversations offer a direct way into the people behind the screen. Pick the perspective that meets you where you are, then follow the thread into the wider archive.
Developer conversation 02
Myles Blasonato (Game Designer)
A designer perspective for listeners who want to understand how ideas become choices people can play.
Watch on YouTube ↗
Developer conversation 03
Renee Gittins (Game Developer, Stumbling Cat)
A game developer conversation for anyone looking for an honest view of the routes people take into the work.
Watch on YouTube ↗For the people in the build
A better conversation for the people making games.
Developers finding a path
Hear how other creators talk about getting started, staying with a hard problem, and finding language for the work they care about. No two routes into games are identical, and that is useful to hear when you are still mapping your own. The value is not a formula. It is the chance to recognise a useful question, a practical habit, or a different way to keep momentum when the next move is not obvious.
Teams making something real
Creative work moves through people. These conversations make room for the relationships, disciplines, and community that shape a project long before an audience sees the result. That wider picture matters when the work is bigger than one role. It is also a reminder that the best collaborators are not only defined by a title. They bring taste, patience, perspective, and the willingness to keep the conversation open.
Listeners who want context
For players and supporters, a game developer podcast can turn credits into people and a finished title into a fuller story. Get closer to the ambition, craft, and culture that give games their texture. When you know more about the people doing the work, it becomes easier to notice the creative choices around a game and to share that appreciation with the community around you.
The Jams and Joysticks approach
People first.
Work in focus.
Every conversation begins with a person, not a pipeline. That creates room for the early spark, the skills someone had to develop, the collaborators who made a difference, and the choices that changed the direction of a project. It makes a more useful listen than a polished victory lap, because creative lives are rarely that tidy.
The range is intentional. A game developer can learn from a designer explaining how they shape an experience. A student can hear how a creative director thinks about responsibility. A fan can understand why a community builder matters to a game long after the trailer is over. Games are made across disciplines, and the conversation should have room for that reality.
Jams and Joysticks also keeps one foot in culture. Music, design, story, community, and technology all meet in the games people remember. Looking at those connections helps listeners see more possibility in the work, and gives the people doing it a place where their full contribution can be recognised.
Bring a question, a project, or simply the curiosity to hear how someone else got here. Take a note, share an episode with a collaborator, and return when the next stage of your own work needs a new perspective.
Pick your next listen
Start close to the work you want to make.
If you are building a game, begin with a developer or designer conversation and listen for the decisions underneath the titles. Notice how people describe their first steps, their creative influences, and the community around the work. Those details are often more useful than a one-size-fits-all answer, especially when your own project is still taking shape. Let that perspective sharpen the next question you bring to the work.
If you are exploring a future in games, use the archive as a set of introductions. You may find a role you had not considered, a creative connection that clicks, or a reminder that the industry is built by people with different skills and different ways in.
If you already care about games, bring someone else into the room. A shared episode can start a better conversation with a teammate, a student, or a friend who has been carrying an idea quietly. Community grows when people feel seen before they are asked to prove themselves.
Good to know
Questions from the community
What is this game developer podcast about?
Jams and Joysticks is a conversation space for the people making games and the culture around them. Episodes make room for developers, designers, creative directors, musicians, and community builders to talk about their path and the work that keeps them moving.
Is it useful if I am early in game development?
Yes. The conversations are made to be approachable whether you are learning, building your first project, looking for collaborators, or finding your place in the wider industry. Start with the guest or discipline that feels closest to your own next step.
Where can I watch Jams and Joysticks?
Watch full conversations on YouTube, listen on Spotify, or explore the episode archive here. Each route leads to the same growing record of voices from across games, music, and culture.
Who appears on Jams and Joysticks?
The platform features creators, builders, and community. That can mean a game developer, designer, creative director, musician, studio voice, or someone helping make more room for people in games.
Keep the conversation moving
Find the voices
behind the game.
Watch original conversations across games, music, and culture. Bring your curiosity, then bring someone from your community.